Social psychology

Influence of colours: 

*depends on cultural differences, culture, context

Red: passion, energy, and excitement, appetite (McDonalds) and feelings of anger or danger in some contexts

Blue: calmness, serenity, and trustworthiness, relaxation. Darker blues can convey professionalism and stability

Yellow: happiness, positivity, optimism, attention - excessive yellow can be overwhelming or cause anxiety

Green: growth, harmony, and balance; nature and tranquility; safety and healing

Purple: luxury, creativity, and spirituality; sense of royalty and sophistication; lighter shades may evoke calmness, while darker shades can appear mysterious

Orange: energetic and vibrant; can signify enthusiasm, warmth, and friendliness; too much orange can be overwhelming

Black: sophistication and elegance; sense of power and authority.; it may also represent mourning or darkness

White: purity, cleanliness and simplicity; sense of spaciousness and clarity; may also be seen as sterile or cold

Pink: love and tenderness; calming effect; can convey energy and excitement

Group Conformity

• • Tendency of individuals to adjust their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours to align with the norms and expectations of a group

  • It can be driven by the desire to fit in, avoid social rejection, or seek approval

  • Group size, unanimity, and social identity influence the level of conformity

  • We can conform  even if we dont believe what others are saying

  • Famous Example: Solomon Asch's conformity experiments in the 1950s -individuals would give incorrect answers to simple questions if others in the group did so

        Compliance

• •  Tendency of individuals to conform to the requests, suggestions or demands 

• • Low Self-Esteem

  •  People tend to be influenced by those they have positive feelings toward or perceive as credible

  • Normative Social Influence: This type of influence occurs when individuals comply with group requests to avoid social rejection or to conform to group norms. They may fear being ostracized or criticized if they don't go along with the group

  • Scarcity Principle: If the group presents something as rare, exclusive, or in limited supply, individuals may be more likely to comply with requests to obtain the scarce resource or opportunity (Limited edition Coca-Cola)

  • Reciprocity: If the group has previously done favors for an individual, they may feel a social obligation to comply with requests from the group as a form of reciprocity

Influence of Minority

• • Situation where a small number of individuals in a group can sway the majority to adopt their views or opinions

  • This often occurs when the minority presents consistent and well-reasoned arguments

  • Minority influence can lead to long-term attitude and behaviour changes

      Group Polarization

• Tendency for group discussions to intensify and strengthen the initial attitudes and inclinations of group members

• This can lead to more extreme views and decisions within a group

• Famous Example: The Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.

Group Blindness

• • Extreme type of polarization

  • Phenomenon where a group's desire for consensus and harmony leads to poor decision-making

  • Group members may suppress dissenting opinions, resulting in a lack of critical evaluation of ideas

Diffusion of Responsibility

• • Occurs when individuals in a group feel less personally responsible for taking action or making decisions because they believe others will do it

  • This can lead to bystander apathy, where nobody takes action in an emergency situation because everyone assumes someone else will

Prosocial Behaviour

• • Voluntary actions intended to benefit others without expecting anything in return

  • It includes acts of kindness, altruism, and helping behaviour

  • Factors like empathy, social norms, and situational cues can influence prosocial behaviour

  • Evolutionary psychology suggests that certain prosocial behaviours, such as cooperation and altruism, may have evolved because they provided survival and reproductive advantages to our ancestors

  • We are also more likely to help someone who shares our DNA because we want to perserve our heritage

Deindividuation

• Occurs when individuals lose self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations, often leading to impulsive or antisocial behaviuor

• Famous Example: The "Stanford Prison Experiment" by Philip Zimbardo 

Social Facilitation

• Tendency for individuals to perform better on simple or well-practiced tasks when in the presence of others, but worse on complex or unfamiliar tasks

The Pygmalion Effect

• Also known as the "self-fulfilling prophecy," 

• Ocurs when people's expectations of others can influence those individuals to perform better or worse than they otherwise might

Mirror Neurons: Mirror neurons are brain cells that fire both when we perform an action and when we see someone else perform the same action. They play a role in empathy and understanding others' actions.

Experiments with monkeys eating peanuts

-> when other monkey ate the first one had activity in same brain parts when he was the one eating